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Sunday, July 26, 2015

I have found a café opposite to the church that I would like to sketch. Very nice interior and music, it was very relaxing in the Sunday afternoon. The pot and tea cup are very stylish (Traditional). I couldn't help to draw it down before I sketched the church. The appetizers we ordered are tasted good, prices are reasonable. For sure will come again!

We ordered a traditional tea, mocha and some snacks.

The church was founded in 1817! A very old church. I was sitting inside the café by the windows and still feeling the heat outside. The big tree has blocked the view and I think I have a reason to come to the cafe in winter for a better view.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

A couple of us went to Niagara Falls to sketch part of the city for a day. We took the Go train from Union Station, and two hours later, we were in Niagara Falls. It's an easy and stress-free way to get there.

When we got there, we met up with a local sketcher and went for a bite to eat in Clifton Hill before looking for some inspiration in the area. We stayed a little bit in Clifton Hill for our first sketching session. This touristy area of town reminds me a bit of Las Vegas but geared towards families. There's a lot of visual stimulants. Then we took the WEGO bus to go see the Falls before heading to Niagara Whirlpool for our second sketching session.

There's a lot of things to sketch in Niagara Falls, we barely scratched the surface. There might be another trip to Niagara Falls in the future to explore more area. All in all, it was a fun experience on a perfect summer day.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

I found this lovely sundial at the University of Toronto campus near Victoria College. I meant for the painting to be about the sundial however as I painted it, the door became just as interesting. Still using my little eyeshadow kit that I converted to the world's most discreet watercolour paint kit.

This is from Riverdale Farm. This time I meant to paint the door. : ) I liked the dark recess of the interior of the barn. I switched the light direction so that the shaded side of the barn would be the right side, not the door side... just for contrast.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Today it was nice in the afternoon even though it rained in the morning. I went to sketch the temporary St. Lawrence Market North which has moved to the south side of St. Lawrence Market on the Esplanade. It is a good place to check out the farmer market and the antique market on the weekend. The old location is currently shut down and going to be demolished.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

On Friday afternoon, it was very hot but not crowded on Main Street, Unionville. However, Starbucks is always full of people. When everyone squeezes in there, I would love to have a cup of coffee in Timothy's to enjoy a quieter moment. We replied a couple of emails here. The snacks are tempting too.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

I painted this with a small watercolour kit that was once an eyeshadow case. : )

I also used the popular waterhandle brush which, just like it sounds, holds water in it's plastic handle.

This is a wonderful quaint pizza oven outside the historical Simpson House. There are tons of subjects to paint at the Farm, which was once the original Toronto Zoo. They have horses, cows, chickens, goats, and rams. Also, a wonderful duck pond and a huge natural pond full of beautiful birds.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Happy Canada Day! People always say Canada is a multi-cultural country. Yes! It's so true. We have different religions and so, different churches as well. We have found this Egyptian church. The architecture is simple but solemn. I really want to visit the interior as well. The height of the church is 29.7 metres with the capacity of 1,800 people.

Monday, June 29, 2015

The station was built in 1951 and decommissioned in 1983 after 30 years operation. It is Toronto’s largest and most remarkable heritage building. It is a late-deco behemoth in red brick with translucent windows; its 70-storey smokestack remains one of the 10 tallest structures in Canada. In the 70s, the plant was converted to burn the natural gas for generating electricity till early 80s. This reduced pollution and efficiency but increased operating costs. The power production then stopped in 1983. The plant is now abandoned and sometimes was used in a number of movies for production.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

I couldn't sketch outdoor today because of this rain. It kept raining and raining, the forecast said it would be raining till tomorrow. So I only could did it inside the car. Some folks sat under the canopy of the café for chatting and enjoying the chilly rainy Saturday afternoon. I enjoyed watching and sketching them, listening the sound by the rain hitting the car and a cup of coffee. Where is Mr. Sun?

Sunday, June 7, 2015

This summer, the Toronto Urban Sketchers are working on a special project, sketching some of the disappearing landmarks in the city to create an illustrated book that will commemorate their place in the history of the city, before they are demolished. Amongst the many endangered historical buildings in the city is the McLaughlin Planetarium.

Located right next to the Royal Ontario Museum, the planetarium opened its doors to the public, in 1968. It stayed in operation for 41 years until it was sold to the University of Toronto in 2009. The planetarium has since been closed and sadly the University of Toronto plans to demolish it to build a new site. A couple of us met on site to sketch the building before it disappears. We were fortunate to have a beautiful day during the sketching session, and we produced quite a few rendition of the building and its surroundings, as you can see below.